A home can now be in front of buyers on the two biggest portals before it ever goes active in the MLS. On September 17, 2026, Zillow and Realtor.com announced that Zillow Preview listings are live on Realtor.com, and that Realtor.com’s own Preview listings show up on Zillow. The two companies first announced the partnership in May.
What changed
- Same pre-market homes on both sites. Preview listings are labeled as Preview and can be seen by any buyer, with no special login or brokerage relationship.
- Extra visibility. According to Zillow, Preview listings get priority placement in search results and in saved-home email alerts during the Preview period, on both platforms.
- What buyers can do. Buyers can save a Preview home, contact the listing agent, and pre-book a tour for when the home is ready to show.
- Who can use it. Zillow says more than 400 brokerages are enrolled, including Keller Williams, RE/MAX, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, HomeServices of America and Engel & Völkers. It’s free for agents and sellers who take part through an enrolled brokerage.
Zillow also shared some of its own numbers. It says Preview listings get 18% more views, 9% more shares and 7% more saves than comparable listings in their first 14 days on market. Those figures come from Zillow, so read them as the company’s claims and not independent research. Still, the direction makes sense: more eyes, earlier.
Why it matters for your listings
Your listing’s first impression may now happen before listing day. If a home goes into Preview on both portals and gets a boost in search and alerts, the photos attached to it are the ones buyers judge it by. A placeholder phone photo of the front door gets the same priority placement as a finished set of professional photos.
A few practical thoughts:
- Plan your media around the Preview date, not the MLS date. If you plan to use Preview, schedule photos so they’re delivered before the home goes public.
- Lead with your strongest exterior. Zillow describes buyers saving Preview homes “to stay updated as more details become available,” so early on, the hero image is carrying most of the weight.
- Watch what buyers do. Zillow pitches the Preview window as pricing feedback: views, saves and tour requests before launch. Clear, accurate photos make that feedback more meaningful.
- Check your rules first. Whether and how you can pre-market depends on your brokerage and your local MLS rules, so confirm before you turn it on.
Source: Zillow Newsroom press release, “Zillow Preview listings are now live on Realtor.com…”, September 17, 2026.